By becoming a cook, you can leave processed foods behind • Hacker News Board

Re: By becoming a cook, you can leave processed foods behind

#71

Post by tptacek » Mon, Jan 03, 2011, 4:06 AM UTC

oiuytyuioiuy wrote: post #70

bobf wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the same vein.. if you want a delicious salad, try making this: an over-easy egg served on top of chunks of crispy bacon over baby spinach greens, with a dressing of a mixture of a decent balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Quick 'sort of ceaser salad' Half a teaspoon of dijon mustard (the dark stuff, not the yellow squeezy hotdog stuff) Half teaspoon of mayonaise Teaspoon of olive oil Teaspoon of lemon juice Shake and pour on lettuce

Gah! What? No! Gah! What? Gah!

You have olive oil, lemon juice, and dijon. All you need is an egg yolk and you have Caesar salad, not "sort of ceaser salad [made with mayo]".

1 egg yolk, 2 tbs lemon juice (or, just half a lemon's juice), spoon of dijon, dash worcestershire (if you have it handy), crushed garlic clove (if you have it handy). Salt, pepper. Mix mix mix mix. 1/3 cup olive oil, poured slowly while mix mix mix mix mix. CAESAR SALAD.

Every time you put mayo in a Caesar, God staple-guns a kitten to a sheet of rotted plywood by the ears. I have this on very good authority.

Re: By becoming a cook, you can leave processed foods behind

#72

Post by jules » Mon, Jan 03, 2011, 4:40 PM UTC

mitko wrote: post #68

jules wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which kitchen appliances did you miss? The one thing I miss when cooking at other people's places is a sharp knife. It is really irritating (and dangerous) to cook with a blunt knife. Did you win the bet? ;)

I guess I just wasn't comfortable cooking in a dorm kitchen and there were multiple appliances that I was missing. But, yes, Jules, a big sharp knife is definitely necessary. We didn't compare, nor we set a wager, but I got my 6packs and learned to control my weight, which I count as a win.

Ah, yes, student dorms usually lack all kinds of material. I have a big knife but I can't use it well so I always use a small knife (this one http://www.edenwebshops.co.uk/en/pt/-robert-herder-paring-kn...). Why do you prefer a big knife? Is it worth becoming proficient using one?

Re: By becoming a cook, you can leave processed foods behind

#73

Post by marze » Thu, Jan 06, 2011, 8:16 AM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #33

marze wrote: post #23

The author leaves out one advantage of not eating out so much, cost. It is difficult to spend more on ingredients for a home cooked meal than a nice restaurant meal would cost, and not hard to spend a lot less. The downside is time, but the upside of is a fun cooking hobby.

It is definitely not harder to spend more cooking at home than eating out. You just have to geek out, just a little bit, and not shop at supermarkets. Note also that if you eat meat but won't eat Tyson chicken or Swift pork, your meal cost is automatically higher than most midrange restaurant meals --- but then again, those restaurants are probably serving you wholesale chicken & pork from the same crappy sources.

If you consider a "nice restaurant meal" to cost $25 or more, I assert it is hard to spend $25 on ingredients for one home cooked meal.

It is fairly easy to spend more than a "dollar menu fast food meal".